Seating Position

Dave Seddon · Post by **Dave Seddon** » 20 Jan 2003 7:42 am

Is there such a thing as the perfect seating position. I know the obvious answer is "whatever your happy with," but I have tried various seats, (I'm talking about the height of the seat)and find it difficult to decide. When I look at other Steel players, some look like they are on top of the Christmas tree, and others look like the springs have gone in the settee. What I am trying to get at is, if your seat is high then your forearms are going to be tilting forward, if your seat is low they will be tilting backwards, or should they be level
as you pick. Maybe a daft question but I'm curious to know if it makes a difference to the speed or feel of a player.
Cheers
Dave.

C Dixon · Post by **C Dixon** » 20 Jan 2003 7:52 am

I believe there is. Just as many piano players will adjust the height and location of both the seat and their seating position on it, such is necessay IMO, when playing the PSG.

If you think of most instruments, they are not fixed in position. Keyboard instruments, Drums and PSG's are among the few that require the player to adjust to the instrument rather than the reverse.

Becuase of this, the right seating invironment can make a big difference in a players perfomance. So, it you find yourself fighting certain required acts such as, picking, moving the bar, engaging pedals or knee levers, try different heights, sizes and locations of seats.

Might suprise ya

God bless you all,

carl

Tony Orth · Post by **Tony Orth** » 20 Jan 2003 9:52 am

I don't know if this is your answer but my brother, who is an Occupational Therapist who specializes in the hand, tells me that there should be a 15 degree backwards bend at the wrist to prevent carpal tunnel problems.

In other words, when playing, your hand should be slightly below your elbow. Another way of saying is is that your hand should bend back 15 degrees from flat. This would indicate that you should sit high enough so that this bend is natural as you play.

Hope this helps. It has for me.
Best Wishes
Tony

Dave Birkett · Post by **Dave Birkett** » 20 Jan 2003 10:09 am

Anybody have a protractor?

Dave Seddon · Post by **Dave Seddon** » 20 Jan 2003 10:49 am

Tony
I am at the moment off work and have been since last October with Carpal tunnel Syndrome.
Dave

Tony Orth · Post by **Tony Orth** » 20 Jan 2003 2:17 pm

Sorry to hear that Dave. I acquired some Carpal Tunnel problems after playing bass for 7 years in a band. Since I've moved to steel, the problem has lessened dramatically.

I hope you are successful in dealing with your carpal tunnel pain and numbness. For the more serious cases, surgery seems to remedy the problem.

Best of luck, and my thoughts and prayers are with you.

Tony Orth

[This message was edited by Tony Orth on 20 January 2003 at 02:18 PM.]

Erv Niehaus · Post by **Erv Niehaus** » 20 Jan 2003 2:18 pm

I always like to play my guitar a little downhill. I can pick faster and I get better mileage.
Uff-Da!

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 20 Jan 2003 4:13 pm

I recently got a pack-seat (Elite Seat) and found it was way too high for my tastes. Years of playing with a chair taught me that I'm most comfortable with a seat that allows a near 90-degree angle between my thigh and shin. With a seat too high, my thighs are at too much of an angle, and they come too close to the back apron of the guitar. When the seat is too low, my forearm is resting (dragging) on the C6th strings when I'm playing E9th.

Comfort is the key to eliminating fatigue while playing. Of course...your mileage may vary.

Oh yeah, forgot to say I solved the "too high" problem with my new seat by cutting a little over an inch off the legs...works great now!

[This message was edited by Donny Hinson on 22 January 2003 at 04:33 PM.]

Budd Kelley · Post by **Budd Kelley** » 20 Jan 2003 5:07 pm

Tony,

Thank your brother for me!! I am new to psg, and I have been trying different "settings" looking for THE POSITION. Nothing is "right" feeling. Now I have a starting position to work from!

Glenn Austin · Post by **Glenn Austin** » 20 Jan 2003 6:41 pm

Being 6 feet tall, I have found the ideal seating position is with a seat 21 inches high, and a 2 inch lift kit on my guitar. I could have gotten away with one inch. The tops of my legs are on a downward angle, my legs don't rub on the bottom of the guitar, my forearms are at the right angle of attack like Tony described above and I can wear any kind of shoes or boots to play, even big long clown shoes.

Nathan Delacretaz · Post by **Nathan Delacretaz** » 21 Jan 2003 7:43 am

Dave - I have wondered about this too, as I am just getting started and don't want to develop any bad habits.

The one thing guiding my choices right now is that I do a little lap steel at gigs as well as PSG. With the lap, I like to sit lower and have a good solid parallel between my thighs and the floor. However, on the PSG, because of the volume pedal and all the leg/foot motion, I find it's better to be a little higher up.

To accomodate these different heights and experiment some, I took a tip from Kim Deschamps (steel player for Charlie Robison and others) - I got a Rok-n-Sok drum throne with the pneumatic raise/lower. Of course, the downside is there's no in-seat storage.

Dave Seddon · Post by **Dave Seddon** » 21 Jan 2003 8:12 am

Good Idea Nathan I shall have to borrow my mate's adjustable drum stool. The simple answers are always the best ain't they.
Cheers Dave

Michael Holland · Post by **Michael Holland** » 21 Jan 2003 8:40 am

This is a very important subject in my opinion. I've found that it's best to 'sit up', especially for us taller players for whom 'standard height' guitars don't fit. I've found that raising both my guitar and seat about 2" makes for a much more comfortable playing position. If you are having any fatigue or numbness in hands, arms, shoulders or back, you should immediately raise your seating position and/or guitar height.

Glenn, my setup is exactly like yours and I, like you, am 6' tall (without the big, long clown shoes)

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Coming Soon -- PedalSteel.org

Bosse Engzell · Post by **Bosse Engzell** » 21 Jan 2003 10:59 pm

This is importent. I have try to tell in other topics here. BUT I have been pushed down. Anyway there is new special chairs on the way over to US. They have been shipped to Terry Wendt in Nashville. I am using this type of chair myself. Link are: http://bluiez.pointclark.net/~bosse . Go to musicians.

Bosse in Sweden
ed for sp (help me Nathan)

Chippy Wood · Post by **Chippy Wood** » 22 Jan 2003 6:51 am

Hi Dave,
I'm a massive 5' 7" and I found the best thing for me is the stool from the Electric Organ it also helps me to use the VKL better,I am considering a Pac -a- Seat but it would have to be made to this type of height.
21.5"

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Ron (Chippy) Wood
Carter S10/Pad

Jim Smith · Post by **Jim Smith** » 22 Jan 2003 7:23 am

WC Edgar at http://www.toteseat.com will make you a seat any height you want, at no extra charge!

David Mason · Post by **David Mason** » 22 Jan 2003 8:18 am

You can get adjustable keyboard seats for as low as $30 or so from AMS, Musician's Friend etc. If you're really worried about Carpal Tunnel Butt it would be worth getting one of these first, as research before you get a pack-a-seat built.

Dave Seddon · Post by **Dave Seddon** » 22 Jan 2003 9:21 am

What I'm still trying to figure out is, if you get two guys both 6 feet tall but one is a 30" inside leg and the other is say a 33" inside leg would they both use the same height of stool. Is it your overall height that counts or the length of your legs. I think we need some info from the seat makers here!!
Cheers Dave

Glenn Austin · Post by **Glenn Austin** » 22 Jan 2003 10:01 am

The trick would be to find the most comfortable seating height for you and then make your guitar fit into the equation. I used an adjustable drum stool and stacked magazines under the guitar legs to figure out how much l needed to raise my guitar. You will know right away when you find what's best for you.

Glenn Austin · Post by **Glenn Austin** » 22 Jan 2003 10:05 am

The trick would be to find the most comfortable seating height for you and then make your guitar fit into the equation. I used an adjustable drum stool and stacked magazines under the guitar legs to figure out how much l needed to raise my guitar. You will know right away when you find what's best for you.

Billy Woo · Post by **Billy Woo** » 22 Jan 2003 11:09 am

Im thinking Knee levers here, Im not a tall man either but my feet have to be able to hit that Vertical knee lever while pushing down on A&B if you know what I mean...but in hindsight this is a guitar adjustment with the legs and rods more so than the seat itself..Oh well just an idea

Larry Bell · Post by **Larry Bell** » 22 Jan 2003 11:31 am

I think the key measurement, from the perspective of the height of the back apron of the guitar is from the floor to the top of the knee. I seem to recall Bruce Zumsteg asking for that before he built my Zum many years ago and I believe it had between 1 and 1 1/2" of clearance from the top of my knee to the apron. If you have a vertical lever, you should also think about floor to top of knee with your leg entended like you would when you hit your up lever. That should be taken into consideration along with the throw and positioning of the lever on the guitar. Most are adjustable, fortunately, so you should have some leeway there (some AREN'T, however).

I've always felt that the line from your knee to your tailbone should be more or less parallel to the floor, as should the line from the wrists to elbow. That determines your optimal seat height. It's a shame nobody has devised a good adjustment mechanism for a PakASeat. One that could retrofit on existing seats would probably sell pretty well.

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Larry Bell - email: larry@larrybell.org - gigs - Home Page
2000 Fessenden S-12 8x8, 1969 Emmons S-12 6x6, 1971 Dobro[This message was edited by Larry Bell on 22 January 2003 at 11:33 AM.]